


That night, I met Santa and a boy

by tacospankakes



Category: South Park
Genre: Childhood Sweethearts, Christmas Magic, Craig is surrounded by blonde boys, Crossover, Ghosts, M/M, Magic, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Trains, polar express au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-10
Updated: 2017-12-23
Packaged: 2019-02-13 05:43:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 9,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12977289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tacospankakes/pseuds/tacospankakes
Summary: A faint, unnatural vibration shaked the thoughts away. Slowly, things and toys were starting to shake in his room and eventually everything was trembling and extremely loud. Then, lights appeared to the window, and Craig, despite his shock, wasted no time getting out of bed to run to the window, where he heard loud train sounds, and...Wait, what ? Craig blinked once or twice to make sure he wasn't hallucinating, but yeah, there was a train in front of his house. Half-hidden by the snow it had lifted, there was an old-looking dark train that only seemed to be waiting......for him.---Or, Craig meets Tweek on the Polar Express, and they go meet Santa together





	1. Chapter 1

Craig wasn't sure if he believed in Santa.

All his childhood, he had been blinded by everything he saw and heard, and even though he was never excited by "christmas magic", he had come to just go along with everyone's saying and accept it.

But as he was getting older — 10 years old, to be precise —, his mind became more logical and science seemed to get more and more important to him.

And then came the sceptical questions; How could Santa live in the North Pole if it was reported "devoid of life" ? How could a fat man fit into fireplaces, break into a house and leave without any traces except an empty plate of cookies and an empty glass of milk ? How could reindeers fly ? How could every present for every child be delivered in one- fuck it, you get the picture.

Tricia still believed in Santa. She was very similar to Craig, though, and she was starting to become sceptical as well. But as a good older brother figure, he wasn't going to fuel that possibility of losing one's innocence. So he let her talk about Santa bringing her all her presents, and his parents telling her that he wouldn't come unless she sleeped.

Yeah right, he was tempted to force himself awake all night just to see if he'd come, but he loved sleeping too much for that.

So, Craig was leaning in his bed and staring at the ceiling full of glowing stars, and he couldn't make his mind shut up.

He wanted to believe in Santa, he guessed. He wouldn't be so restless if he didn't. Maybe this was a child part that he wanted to keep for as long as possible.

Craig quickly turned to the side when he heard the weight of footsteps getting closer to his door. He closed his eyes and slowed down his breathing, hoping his parents wouldn't check on him too closely.

"He must be sleeping now," said his mother in a hushed voice to not wake him up. "Thought he'd stay awake waiting for Santa." "Those times are over Laura, Craig's a big boy now," answered his father in an equally hushed tone. "Would be sad if it were true, said his mother, he even sleeps with his hat. Wait a minute, I'll take it off."

The noirette heard his mother come closer as quietly as she could, felt her take off his hat and sweetly kiss his cheek. "Merry Christmas, treasure," she whispered.

They left the room, and Craig was once again left alone with his thoughts.

"A big boy ?" he thought as he bitterly took his hat from the nightstand and put it back on. Guess he was right, but...he was still 10 years old. Was it really time to let go ? Was it time to stop believing and...grow up ?

A faint, unnatural vibration shaked the thoughts away. Slowly, things and toys were starting to shake in his room and eventually everything was trembling and extremely loud. Then, lights appeared to the window, and Craig, despite his shock, wasted no time getting out of bed to run to the window, where he heard loud train sounds, and...

Wait, what ? Craig blinked once or twice to make sure he wasn't hallucinating, but yeah, there was a train in front of his house. Half-hidden by the snow it had lifted, there was an old-looking dark train that only seemed to be waiting...

...for him.

Craig rushed to put on his slippers and dark blue dressing gown, ripping the right pocket in the way. He paid no mind to it, thought making sure he wouldn't step on the space marbles scattered across the floor from the rip. He ran down the stairs and all the way to the front door, finally stepping on the snow and slowing down to stop in front of the train.

Craig couldn't believe it. It really was a train. He could smell the metal and the fuel, see the rails on the road — that weren't there earlier that day, it just wasn't possible —, and if he looked up a bit, he could read in clear letters on the black rail car-

"All aboard !" The noirette flipped his head to the sound. He didn't realize that there was a man standing further away by the last car of the train, highly illuminated. Craig walked slowly towards the man, still a bit wary.

The man wore a conductor uniform, round glasses and had... a surprisingly large head. Craig would've actually laughed at the size if it weren't for the strangeness of the situation. The man didn't have the look to be a conductor _at all_ , but he guessed he'd go along with it.

"Well, ya comin' ?"

Craig just had to ask now. "Where ?"

"To the North Pole, of course, answered the man, this is the Polar Express, m'kay ! And I'm your conductor, Mr. Mackey."

Yep. That's what was written on the train car. He just had to process all this information now. Jesus Christ...

"North Pole ?" Craig asked anyway. Everything was just too surreal, he couldn't help himself.

He watched as the conductor hummed quietly and handed him the lantern he was holding. Craig took it, too speechless to refuse, and the elder man took out a picture of him along with his full name and age, printed on an old parchment.

"Is this you ?"

"...yeah ?"

Then the ballon-headed man listed all the things the kid seemed to have done — or... not done, in this case. No photo taked with (obviously fake) mall Santa this year, no letter, yadda-yadda. Craig knew all that, what was the point ?

"Sounds to me like this is your crutial year, m'kay. And if I were you, I would think about climbing on board."

Mr. Mackey seemed a lot less preoccupied than his speech might've looked. But Craig didn't trust him at all, and in his lack of speech capacity, he still managed to deal with it the way he dealed with everything else.

He flipped the conductor off.

The latter choked on his saliva at the sight. It made the youngest snicker. "E-Excuse me, did you just-" He quickly pulled himself together, even though he still looked upset.

"Fine, m'kay ! As you wish !"

The man huffed as he turned his back to the kid and climbed back on the platform, and immediately, the train whistled and began to roll way.

And as the train slowly gained speed, Craig was suddenly overwhelmed with a will of actually climbing aboard and go with the train.

Without knowing why, the noirette ran to catch the ramp and managed to step on the car before it became too fast. Looking back at his brown house as the train rolled away, he saw the snowman on his front yard just staring at him and waving. Uh... The wing blowing his face and hat, he wondered if this was a good idea. But there wasn't exactly a good way to jump without getting hurt at this point.

He heard someone clear their throat behind him, and looked over his shoulder to see Mr. Mackey waiting at the car door. Bastard. He had expected this. He slowly walked up to him without looking at him, and Mr. Mackey opened the door for him. Craig stepped inside the car.

There were a lot of kids chanting and running and messing around. Like they weren't in a fucking train who showed up in front of their house to take them to North Pole.

Craig felt himself cringing at the annoyance already. Then Mr. Mackey closed the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This first chapter is an introduction, so Tweek's not there yet. But if you've seen the movie ( of course you did, what am I talking about ) you'll know that Tweek is in the next chapter.
> 
> This is my first fanfic ever, and english is not my first language, so I appreciate criticism !
> 
> Note : I am aware that Tweek is buddhist, but I've done my research, and American Buddist children can believe in Santa. Tweek believes a little bit, but he's mostly there for the thrill.


	2. Chapter 2

Craig was careful on his way to find a seat. He didn't want to be bothered with anyone, really. The other children were singing a song about the Polar Express... yeah, they came up with a whole song about that. What a bunch of naive souls.

The noirette sat alone, on a seat at the back of the car, until he noticed a pair of green eyes staring at him. He accidentally glared as he locked eyes and the other flinched and looked away. Craig felt kinda bad now, because the kid was kinda cute. Along with those green eyes were dark bags, pale skin sprinkled with freckles and blonde messy hair that sticked in every direction. The boy was wearing a pale lavender pijama that hadn't been buttonned properly. His hands with bitten nails were shaking, in fact, it seemed like his whole body was trembling. Craig hoped it wasn't his fault.

"Hey, Craig said softly to not scare the other more, I'm sorry."

The blond boy turned around and faced him.

"It's okay," he answered. They stayed silent for a few seconds. "My name is Tweek."

The noirette smiled. It was fitting. "I'm Craig."

Right before they could start a friendly chat, a kid from the seat ahead turned around abruptly and put himself right in front of him.

"I'm Clyde !" he exclaimed, sending sputters on the other's fave. Clyde had brown hair and brown eyes, and his skin was darker than Tweek's, but still paler than Craig's. His bright smile showed braces supported by a headgear, origin of the sputters. The boy was a bit chubby and he was wearing a red pijama.

Clyde talked to the two boys, stating that they were in a magic train and proudly reciting the few things he knew about trains. Tweek and Craig managed to slip a few words here and there.

"Are we really going to North Pole ?" asked the raven-haired to the blonde.

Tweek nodded eagerly. "Isn't it amazing ?" he added.

Before Craig could add anything, Mr. Mackey came back asking for everyone's tickets.

"Ticket, please, m'kay ?" he asked Craig.

The latter reached into his right pocket, only to remember that there was a hole from when he ripped it. He quickly reached to the other one, pulling out a golden ticket — that he now realized hadn't been given by the conductor before. It had just appeared in his pocket. Mr. Mackey took the ticket from his hand and started arkwardly clipping what seemed to be letters into the golden paper. He gave the ticket back to Craig and moved on to next seat.

Craig lifted the ticket up and noticed that the ballon-headed man had written the letters "B" and "N", with a slight space between the two. Craig had no idea what this could mean.

Clyde turned to talk to him again. "Did you see what that weirdo wrote on my ticket ?" He lifted said object so the boy could see it. "S, A, what does it mean ?"

Craig shrugged in answer.

Then, Mr. Mackey announced on the mic that they were reaching their next stop. 1020 Southeast Street. The other side of the town Craig lived in, actually.

Craig leaned to the window to see what was happening. The controller was saying the exact same thing he told Craig. Yep, that was definitely some speech prepared in advance. Craig couldn't see that well from here, but the kid seemed to be a boy wearing a light blue pijama, with some kind of weird blond undercut.

The boy refused to climb aboard and Mr. Mackey, again, repeated the same thing he told Craig. The latter made eye contact with the boy as the train started to roll away.

At the last second, the blonde jumped forward and started running to grab the ramp.

"Hey ! That kid's gonna get on the train !" he called out to the rest of the children, getting their attention.

The train car was soon filled with chatters of worry and surprise as Craig opened the window to shout.

"Go on, you can do it !" But the kid tripped in the snow and fell.

Then Craig knew he had to react quickly. He wasn't going to let that boy outside, no way. He quickly spotted the word "EMERGENCY" at the end of the car. An emergency brake. Fantastic.

He pulled it and the sudden stop made all the children fall back in their seats.

He looked to the window once again to see that the pijama-wearing kid had climbed on the very last car. Craig smiled faintly knowing that. Then, Mr. Mackey came furiously through the door.

"Who the hell stopped this train, m'kay ?" he asked furiously.

Clyde wasted no time to denounce him. Then, Mr. Mackey walked towards the raven haired boy. He probably wanted to look intimidating, but it didn't really work. He started lecturing him about how this was Christmas Eve and that it was super important, m'kay, and how the emergency brake could only be pulled in emergencies (duh...), yaddie yadda yadda.

Luckily, Tweek came to defend him.

"H-He only did it so that boy could get aboard !"

The controller looked surprised for a second. Then, he turned to Craig. "Is this true ?" he asked. Craig only glared at him, hoping the elder man would get his message ("Of course it is, you dumbass, who do you think I am ?").

Upon noticing that the blonde was indeed in the car behind, Mr. Mackey decided that it was a good time to give hot drinks to everyone, announcing with enthousiasm his decision through the mic. At that moment, many waiters came with trays garnished of mugs, cream and steaming pitchers. They came in so fast Craig was taken aback. They were singing and dancing and moving so fast Craig couldn't keep up with every movement, and- now there was a table in front of him. And other children. The seats had rotated. Woah.

The waiters were singing about hot chocolate. All children were in awe seeing how the waiters seemed to defy the laws of physics and gravity, and frankly, Craig was too. The hot chocolate smelled delicious. It was too hot to drink for now, he had burned his lips trying to take a sip.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Craig saw Tweek discreetly hiding his full mug to get another one. The sight made Craig grin. Clever boy. The raven haired boy was about to hide his as well, but a movement from the waiters pushed the mug to his lips and he decided to just drink right away.

Then, the tables disappeared and the seats were rotated again to their original position. The waiters all danced out of the train car, Mr. Mackey following them, and the children were left alone. Everyone felt satisfied and full from the delicious drinks. It really was delicious. Craig sat back as he watched Tweek get up from his seat to reach for the other mug under it, then walking to the end of car.

"Couldn't get enough of one, could ya ?" Craig mocked gently, though Tweek jumped anyway.

"I-It's not for me, softly replied the blonde with slight head movement to point the door, it's for him."

Oh. Of course. How nice of him, Craig had forgotten that other kid.

"Can I come with you ?" he asked. Tweek nodded. "If you want," he said, looking at the other as he was leaving his seat to follow the lavender-wearing boy. Tweek stared for a while before pointing to his own upper lip, Craig understanding what it meant. He blushed as he looked away to quickly swipe the milk mustache that'd been left from the hot chocolate cream. Then, he noticed that Tweek's golden ticket had been left on his seat.

"Tweek, you forgot your ti-" but the younger had already left the car.

"Wait, aren't you supposed to not leave your seats ?" Clyde interjected. Craig looked at him for a second but immediately walked to the door to follow his friend.

The outside of the car seemed a lot more dangerous than the inside. It was very windy and Craig had to watch his step to make sure he wouldn't slip and get immediately killed by the train. But as Craig was concentrating on his next step, the golden paper slipped from his loose grip and instantly got caught in the wind and flew away. When Craig failed to catch it, he realized in horror that he had completely lost Tweek's ticket.

_Fuck._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Clyde doesn't wear glasses, so I gave him braces instead.
> 
> Note : This fic is a mix of the movie and the book, so some scenes might be missing if you've only seen the movie.


	3. Chapter 3

Craig went in the train car anyway. In his hurry of thoughts, he had just crossed the space between the cars and opened the door in haste.

So, now he was in what seemed to be an observatory. He saw Tweek and the blonde kid holding the cup of hot chocolate at the back. They both looked up at the sound of the door opening.

Tweek smiled at the noirette.

"Ng- Craig, this is Butters," he introduced. "Hi, fella," said the other.

Butters had bright blue eyes and a scar across his left eye, that was a lot paler than the other. It looked kinda badass.

"Thank you for stopping the train for me, continued Butters, I really appreciate it."

"It's no problem."

Craig walked towards the two boys and sat down next to Butters.

"W-Why didn't get in the car with the other kids ?", asked the green eyed one. "Well, let's say kids are usually pretty mean to me, so I didn't wanna risk it this time."

Butters sipped his hot chocolate, and Tweek and Craig were a bit saddened by what the other had said. "Should we go back to the wagon ?" asked Craig. Tweek nodded, then turned to Butters. "Are you- gh- coming with us, Butters ?"

The latter shook his head. "Maybe later, he answered, for now I'm just gonna stay here. It's calm."

The other two glanced at each other and shrugged. Alright then. Then both got up from their seats and left the wagon. Upon entering, they saw that Mr. Mackey was there.

"Ah ! There you are, he said, you kids aren't supposed to switch wagon, m'kay, never alone and never as you please, m'kay !"

Tweek and Craig both apologized.

Then, Mr. Mackey turned to the younger. "I'm sorry, mister, but it seems like I've forgot to clip your ticket, m'kay. May I ?" He asked as he extended his hand to prompt the blonde to give the golden object.

But Tweek nervously glanced towards his seat. "I-I left it on my seat," he said.

The controller seemed surprised. "...are you telling me that you _lost_ you ticket ?"

Tweek started shaking and sweating as he tried to come up with an answer. Shit. Craig gulped nervously. He had to say something quickly before his friend had a panic attack.

"He didn't lose it. I did, Craig said, stepping forward, raising his hand, I...I tried to give it back but I lost grip-"

Mr. Mackey signed loudly.

"You can have mine," the noirette added as he handed his ticket to Tweek, who had sat down.

The ballon-headed snatched it from his hand, though. "These tickets aren't interchangeable, m'kay !" he yelled. Tweek flinched from the loud noise. "Young boy, added the controller, I'll ask you to follow me," he said as he grabbed Tweeks hand to guide him towards the back.

Craig stared at the blonde as he walked away. Tweek looked back for a second and Craig felt his heart pinch. His green eyes showed disappointment, sadness and anger. Craig sadly frowned at that, then the door closed with Tweek and the controller gone. He felt so bad.

"You know what's gonna happen know ? pressed Clyde through his braces, they're gonna kick him from the train !" That wasn't really helping, Clyde, thanks.

Craig signed softly and looked up at the door one last ti-

Wait...what was that in the corner of his eyes ? Above the emergency brake, there was a sort of vent and stuck in it was what seemed to be a... golden... paper...

Holy fuck !

Craig quickly climbed and reached to the ticket that had magically reappeared in the wagon and pausing a moment so the others could see it, he left the wagon as fast as possible, making sure this time that he wouldn't let go of the ticket, holding it with his teeth.

He slammed the door to the observatory open. The child with the scar jumped at the sudden sound.

"Butters ! called the noirette at the other, where did they go ?"

The blue eyed kid seemed to have lost his words a bit.

"Quickly !" pressed Craig. Butters jumped once again.

"Oh hamburgers, he replied, t-they went on the roof !" he added, pointing to the roof.

Craig looked up to the window just in time to see the silhouettes of Mr. Mackey and Tweek walking together, guided by the light of a lantern.

The noirette quickly thanked the other and rushed to the balcony of the wagon. The cold hair hit his face when he turned to his right seeing a ladder seeming to wait for only him.

Craig climbed to the top and stood on the snow. God, there was so much wind, the snowflakes slapped his face, the tassles of his hat flopping behind him. Why would you need to walk on the roof when you could just walk from wagon to wagon, wouldn't that be simpler and a lot less dangerous ? That was the most stupid thing Craig had ever heared.

He could still see the shapes the Tweek and Mr. Mackey through the blizzard. "HEY !" the noirette called out, but of course they couldn't hear him.

He started walking forward. "HEY !" he yelled once or twice after that. The silhouettes and light disappeared beyond the snowy fog, but Craig continued to walk.

Suddenly, it seemed like the light had come back. He could see it, but he didn't see Tweek. He stepped forward only to see that the light came from a fire... What ?

There was a young boy wearing an orange parka humming to himself behind the flames. He looked dirty and had a plaster on his nose, the hood was doen and he had blond hair (that's three blonde boys he meets in one night, what are the odds).

The kid looked up when he noticed a figure before him. "...what can I do for you ?" he asked.

At this point, honestly...

"I'm looking for uh...a boy ?" asked Craig.

"Are ya ? asked the kid with a small laugh, well ya found me !" Then, he exploded in loud cackles as if it was the most funny thing in the entire world. It made Craig a little uncomfortable.

Then, the kid wiped his eyes teary from the laugh. "Sorry, I know you're not looking me, he said, the name's Kenny."

Kenny's eyes fell to the ticket in Craigs hand. "Is that yours or his ?" he asked.

"His," answered the noirette.

"Better put it somewhere safe, my guy, that's some authentic official stuff, said Kenny as he reached down to take off his boot, I usually put stuff in there. Pretty safe space."

Craig mimicked the blonde and put the golden paper in his slipper and put it on again.

"What are you doing up here ?" he asked to the other.

"I travel for free, Kenny smiled, I'm the king of this train, baby !"

There was small silence.

"Do you want a drink ?" he gestured to the pitcher atop the fire. Craig refused, because even if it'd smelled good (it really didn't), he wasn't thristy anyway.

Kenny stared at Craig with a judging look.

"Hey, correct me if I'm wrong, continued Kenny, but you don't look like you're here for the magic. Am I right ?" "...what do you mean ?" asked Craig. "You know, you don't look like a Santa fanboy to me."

Craig somehow knew what he meant. "Well...I guess I do wanna believe it, but...I don't wanna get frustrated, I don't wanna have people taking me for an idio-"

He was cut off by Kenny abruptly putting out the fire with the drink from the pitcher and packing his things up fast.

"Time's running low, we better go looking for that boy," Kenny explained with a smirk, then he turned his back to start walking. Craig was about to follow him when Kenny turned to face him again.

"One more thing, Kenny added, getting close to Craigs face, do you believe in ghosts ?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one took long to update.


	4. Chapter 4

Craig slowly shook his head.

After a few seconds of silence, Kenny slowly nodded. "Uh-huh..." he voiced with interest.

Then he started walking as if nothing happened.

Craig was so confused. He continued following the parka-wearing kid but his thoughts were only getting more tangled and louder in his head. "What the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck," was chanting in his head non-stop. The noirette was wondering if this was a dream, and, losing sight of the supposed ghost for a moment, Craig paused to order himself to wake up.

He pinched his skin many times. Ouch. Didn't work. He slapped in face in rapid successions. Didn't work either. "Wake up, wake up, wake up," he kept repeating to himself. He took some snow from the roof and threw it on his face. Didn't work either.

"You know, from an exterior point of view, you look like a fucking madman, right ?" Craig heared a voice that grounded him back to reality.

Kenny was standing right in front of him, looking half-amused and half-actually-worried.

And Craig realized that this was all real.

And somehow...it was so chocking that it wasn't. Craig didn't react at all. He blinked, at best.

Kenny extended his hand to help the other stand up. He pulled harshly on the other's hand to pull him up.

"We're really running out of time now, the blonde said, starting walking, That kid you're searching for must be in the locomotive, up front. We gotta get _inside_ the train before it reaches the tunnel."

"Why," asked Craig, a bit worried.

Kenny mysteriously turned to the noirette, his blue eyes flashing a sinister look. "...there's but one inch of clearance between the roof of this thing and the top of Flat-Top Tunnel. Savvy ?"

Craig gulped and looked forward.

The train reached a very abrupt slope. Kenny made Craig sit in front of him as he sat too, putting them in a slide-like postion.

Kenny gave them a push and they both started to slide at high speed towards the locomotive. The snow was making it a bit difficult, but it was somehow doable, thanks to the angle of the train. The space between the wagons was nothing thanks to their speed.

The entry of the tunnel was getting closer very quickly.

"Okay ! yelled Kenny through the snow that was hitting their face, you're gonna need to help me there ! You'll jump when I'll push you, 'kay ?"

"Y-You'll what ?" Craig asked a bit panicked.

"One, two, three, go !" the blonde yelled before pushing Craig's back. The taller let out a small scream as he almost forgot to do what he was told to.

As he jumped he turned his head back just in time to see Kenny waving at him, then getting smashed by the entry of the tunnel.

Blood spatted everywhere, and Craig got to see his entrails. It was extremely gory and such a horrible death.

Craig fell on the floor and immediately lost balance. He put a hand on his violently beating heart and caught his breath after the shock.

"Holy.....fucking.......shit....," he gasped. He did not expect to witness the death of someone tonight.

Then, the noirette managed to recover himself enough to stand up. He noticed that he had fell in the pile of coal used to light up the engine, and even though he had fallen in coal, he was completely clean. Not even any blood splatter from Kenny.

Craig shuddered at the thought, and looked in front of him. Tweek was sitting on a siege, completely still and shaking, staring at many quadrants and levers and buttons.

"Tweek !"

"GAH !" yelled the blonde as he jumped 2 meters in the air.

Craig was surprised to see the cute boy. "I thought you were ejected."

"They put me in control ! explained nervously the green-eyed kid, That was a terrible decision, I have no idea what I'm doing ! Nhg, it's TOO MUCH PRESSURE !"

As he said this, Tweek starting pulling his hair in panic.

Almost by instinct, Craig rushed to pull both his hands away and reassure him.

"Hey, hey, it's okay Tweek, I'm here," he told the other. He glanced around the panel control.

"Okay, let's take it slow, he slowly directed Tweek, they must've teached you how this worked, right ? Do you remember any of the commands ?"

Tweek took a deep but shaky breath.

"I-I don't remember exactly but..." He pointed a lever. "I think that's the accelerator..." He pointed a smaller one. "T-that's the brake." Slowly gaining confidence, he pointed a few quadrants. "Those are the manometers, and this, he flashed a faint smile, is the whistle."

Craig slowly looked up. The whistle... He pointed it with wide eyes and Tweek nodded. Non-verbal communication.

The taller pulled the whistle with an excited strength. The loud noise filled both of their ears as they grinned to each other. Tweek grabbed the cordon and pulled twice in turn. Then Craig pulled it one last time.

Craig grinned widely. "I've wanted to do that my whole life !"

Tweek smiled back and twitched. He took another shaky breath.

"Thank you, Craig," he said with a thankful stare. He looked a lot more calm now, and Craig was thankful for that.

And at that moment, they both looked down as they realized they were still holding hands. They both pulled away quickly, avoiding each other's eyes and trying desperately to hide their blush.

Then, one of the engineers popped up from the open window. "You doing alright, kid ?" he asked, then he looked at Craig with an unreadable look. The noirette wondered for a second if he was going to be obliged to explain how he had gotten there, and he honestly had no good way to... "I climbed to the roof to chase him but I met a ghost that let me here and I saw him die" doesn't get you very far in court.

But luckily the engineer didn't ask anything when Tweek nodded and said that they were fine. The enginner sniffed through his dark mustache. "Okay, well we still need a few minutes to fix the headlight, so you gonna need to stay a lil' more, 'kay ?

He didn't give them any chance to respond as he immediately disappeared from their sight of the window and back into the cold.

After a few seconds of staring at the window, Tweek looked back to his friend.

"Really...thank you, Craig, he said to the other, you helped me calm down and remember stuff, I'm...actually surprised." This made Craig raise his eyebrows. "Don't you usually get help when you have a panic attack ?"

The smaller shamely shook his head. "No, people usually- Gh ! ...let me sort my shit myself..." He locked eyes with Craig. "That's why I'm very grateful."

The other nodded, his blush rising back a bit. "It's only natural," he smiled.

After that, there was a small silence. Then, Craig thought of something.

"Tweek, he asked, do you believe in Santa ?"


	5. Chapter 5

Tweek looked to the side as if he was thinking.

"A little bit..." he said with a smile voice.

Craig couldn't help but interject. "Then what are you doing here ?"

The blonde looked up and shrugged. "I mean... h-how could I not be here ? This is such a great holiday and this whole thing is magical. But this is all a dream after all."

Oh. So that's what Tweek thought thought this was.

The latter noticed the sour look on Craig's face. He then appeared to be worried, and a bit scared.

"Am I... not dreaming ?"

Craig slowly shook his head. He had thought so a few minutes ago, but the chilling feeling of the snow on his face had proven otherwise. Tweek exhaled weirdly and looked to the side.

"Okay..." he whispered, his voice shaking just like his body.

Craig quickly grabbed the others hand to prevent another panic attack. He softly rubbed his thumb on the blonde's back of hand.

Tweek forced a crooked smile and looked up. "W...what about you ?" he asked in a high-pitched and cracking voice, obviously trying to change the subject.

"E-Excuse me ?" Craig asked, confused.

"Do you believe in Santa ?" Tweek requested again quickly.

Craig signed at the question. He had completely forgotten his troubles from earlier that night.

"I-I don't know... I... I don't want to wonder too much about it."

Tweek nodded in understanding, and Craig was grateful he didn't insist on an explanation. Craig was getting to tired for this.

The noirette yawned at the thought. At that moment, Craig took a step back and accidentally accrocha the accelerator.

They didn't really notice the change of speed at first, but eventually they heard the screams of the engineers at the front.

They glanced at each other and rushed to get a better earshot. One of them repeated himself but Craig couldn't hear him.

Before he could ask, Tweek translated for him. "They want us the stop the train !" Then Craig rushed back inside.

Craig looked at the levers nervously.

"What was the brake again ?"

"What ?!" Asked Tweek, his hair flowing in the wind.

Craig spotted a large red lever that screamed to be pulled. Red equals emergencies, right ? This is it.

"It was this one, right ?" Craig put his two hands on it, waiting for confirmation.

Tweek seemed to hesitate. "It looks like a brake," urged the taller.

Tweek stared at the other with a panicked look before he started pulling his hair. "GAH ! IT'S TOO MUCH PRESSURE, I DON'T KNOW !"

Craig felt bad at causing another panic attack. The yells of the engineers were getting more and more frantic.

Tweek glanced at Craig.

Craig desperately tried to remember what lever it was. Wasn't it...wooden ? Craig's eyes traveled to the lever the blonde had mentionned earlier. This one.

His eyes switched to the small lever and pulled harshly. Again, they were pulled back by the weight balance.

The engineer appeared once again to the window, lightly pushing Tweek so he could have space. "Hey, thank you boys, that was pretty close," he said. "What happened ?" asked Craig.

At that moment, Mr. Mackey entered from the place Craig had fallen.

"Why are still again, m'kay ?" he demanded furious. Then he saw the noirette. Frowning, the controller was about to scold the blue-eyed child, but the engineer spoke before it was possible.

"Sorry to say it controller, but it looks like the train gained high speed, and good ol' Steve over there almost died falling over the rail," explained the moustached engineer."

Mr. Mackey glared at Craig. Craig glared back, hoping his message would get across ("It was an accident, you fucking twat.").

"Welp, added the other man, oblivious to the tension, we're done fixing the headlight, so we can take over now. Thank you, kid." He nodded to Tweek, who nodded back nervously.

Then Craig remembered why he came here in the first place.

"OH ! I almost forgot, Craig reached to his slipper and pulled out the golden piece of paper, I found your ticket."

Tweek's eyes illuminated. "You found my ticket !" He took the object from Craig's hand and hugged the other boy. "Thank you so much, I was so worried about it !"

Craig blushed again, this time glad Tweek couldn't see him behind his shoulder. But he made eye contact with Mr. Mackey who seemed to enjoy watching the two, and the hug became a lot more embarrassing.

Tweek pulled away and the controller spoke in turn. "May I ?" he extended his hand to prompt the blonde to give the golden object.

And this time, Tweek gave it.

Mr. Mackey pulled out his paper clip started to write on the blonde ticket. He then gave it back, clearly proud of his work.

"AM" it said.

Craig and Tweek glanced at each other, intrigued by the meaning of these letters, and the controller started to talk again.

"Alright, then if everything is in order, you'll both be guided back to the wagon with the other kids, m'kay ?"

The children both nodded.

The three of them thanked the engineers who had started to drive the train and took way to the wagon.

But they didn't go by the roof this time, they had to go by all the other wagons.

This one was full of old plushies and broken puppets. It had a very creepy atmosphere into it.

"Ah...the Forsaken and the Abandonned, told Mr. Mackey, be careful, m'kay, these toys've suffered enough. It's a new concept the boss came up with. Instead of being thrown away, they're...collected and fixed."

Tweek shuddered at all the creepy baubles and grabbed Craig's hand for reassurance.

"I don't like this...i-it feels like they're all.. s-staring at m-me," he hushed, his voice trembling.

Craig squeezed the other's hand. "Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you."

Mr. Mackey guided them to the end of the wagon. And even though nothing did happen, Craig could swear to God himself that he heard the dolls whisper to him and felt a hand fall on his shoulder and slide off. Truly terrifying.

Their assigned wagon was full of turbulence. Butters had joined the other kids, and they were all talking to each other.

Especially Clyde. He was talking really loud.

He was having three conversations at the same time and his braces caused much sputters to be spit. The other kids were looking extremely annoyed by the brown kids antic.

Suddenly, all the kids jumped when a quiet one decided to speak up.

"Oh my god, will you please shut the FUCK up ?!" It was Butters. The kid who until now had little to no conversation and who had kept quiet.

All the kids went "OOOOHHHHH !!!" at that, you know, as kids do. Clyde shut up immediately and sat back in his seat, crossing his arms, looking hurt.

The controller glared at poor Butters. "Watch your language, young man, m'kay !" he scolded.

Butters curled up to make himself smaller.

"Ah jeez, I'm sorry, Mr. Controller," he apologized, and all the kids laughed.

Craig smirked and Tweek giggled as they went back to their seat. Craig sat next to Butters. The latter leaned on the seat in front.

"Hey Clyde, I'm really sorry, I didn't mean that, okay ?"

Clyde sadly nodded to the blonde. "It's okay...I'll admit I was being annoying." Butters smiled softly and patted the other's shoulder.

Craig smiled. That kid had a good heart.

Mr. Mackey then told the kids to look their right. Everyone rushed to the windows and exclaimed their awe. You could the small island of the North Pole just a few kilometers away. The rail was getting more and more tortuous and fanciful.

"This is it, Craig, do you see it ?" asked Butters all excited.

Craig took a deep breath. This was it. They were there.

The real North Pole.


	6. Chapter 6

The North Pole island was filled with lights and colors. Red and golden were everywhere and the glowings lights gave a warm feeling to the children. It was breathtaking.

The train entered the city. It was astounding, but... empty.

"Shouldn't there be elves ?" Tweek asked to Mr. Mackey. "Where are they ?"

"They all gather downtown, m'kay, explained the controller, that's where Santa'll be giving the first Christmas gift."

"And who's gonna get the first Christmas gift ?" demanded Clyde, all excited.

The children all gasped in awe when the balloon-headed man answered with a mysterious voice, well... an attempt, that one of them would be choosed by Santa himself.

The train had arrived at destination. They were downtown. There were elves everywhere now, all dressed in red. A giant christmas tree was standing high and proud in the middle of the place. It was all illuminated from top to bottom with white lights and tinsels and bulbs of various size and colors. The star at the top was absolutely gigantic.

Mr. Mackey made all the children leave the wagon. They were placed in whatever order Mr. Mackey'd ordered — Craig wasn't listening.

But Butters was the last one to get off, and he had an odd look on his face. Both the blonde and noirette noticed it.

"W-What's wrong, Butters ?" asked Tweek.

Butters signed. "I...I don't know about this, fellas, I feel like I shouldn't meet Santa Claus."

"What are you talking about ?" demanded Craig.

"Well...somehow I feel like I just could ruin this for everyone, and I don't want that."

Mr. Mackey put his hand the younger's shoulder. "You know, you don't have to come if you don'y want to, m'kay ?"

"That's not the issue right now," thought Craig.

Tweek rubbed the other blonde's shoulder to reassure him. "Don't- ng ! worry, he said, you're not going to ruin it." He smiled.

Butters smiled back.

"A-Alright, then," the scarred child responded.

The whole group walked to some sort of small platform that stood in front of the sleigh and the reindeers. The children disperced on the platform and Tweek and Craig stayed close to one another.

Suddenly, they heard what sounded like a airship far away. And maybe a few elves humming, but it wasn't clear.

Then, from atop the tree star, appeared the airship they had heared earlier. They couldn't see very well, but it looked like they were elves on the thing — you could see little red dots. And it seemed to be pulling someth-

Oh....my god.

That bag was so motherfucking HUGE ! It was definitely defying the laws of physics there. Craig knew this was most likely magic and all, but still. His poor little sciency brain couldn't handle that.

Wait, something was off.

"I MAY BE JUST AN OLD RAILROLLER, M'KAY, AND KNOW NOTHING ABOUT AIRCRAFT, BUT FROM MY LAMEST PERSPECTIVE, YOU NEED MORE ALTITUDE, M'KAY !"

Yeah, that was it.

The elves started to chant and then, you could see a few red dots jump from the blimp, which made it rise up from many meters. Just how heavy were those guys ?

So the zeppelin was now a lot higher in the sky, but something still felt off. Craig squinted.

The bottom of the giant bag was touching the tip of the star just a little bit, but it was enough to make the star lean forward...

...and start falling.

The children among the small group started panicking, the elves too. Craig and Tweek immediately went to protect each other, by instinct. Craig stepped forward and Tweek put his arm in front of him.

Elves from the airship jumped retained by ropes to try to catch the star before it smashed to the ground. It was stressing to watch.

But luckily, they managed to do it. Right before the tip touched the ground, the many elves grabbed the ornament and pulled it back up, put it back on the tree.

When the star lighted up once again, all the elves cheered and clapped in joy. Even the children. Tweek just signed in relief.

"Oof, that scared me so much," he breathed. "Are you okay ?" asked the noirette. Tweek simply nodded.

The bag of gifts was placed on the small small sleigh, and Craig noted that it really was gigantic. Like really.

Then, music started playing and the reindeers started to place themselves in front of the sleigh. It felt like the beginning of a spectacle. All the eyes were turned to the left, where the reindeers where, along with what seemed to be a large door where someone important would make an entrance.

But for now, the reindeers were making a great show. The elves were bringing the bells, all decorated of green and red ribbons, and shaking them in rhythm with the music. The bells were ringing in flawless harmony as the elves tried to attach them to the animals who were jumping up and down in the air.

Butters came closer the two other boys. "Aren't these bells making the prettiest sound ever ?"

Craig and Tweek nodded with enthousiasm.

All the elves started to sing a choir. The children didn't know what was going on, but they liked it. They were all dancing off-beat to the slow-paced song.

And just as they finished, the door opened to reveal Santa.

Everybody became crazy. Both the elves and the children were screaming at the top of their lungs at the sight of the fat silhouette submerged in light.

It was kind of difficult to see him, since Craig was sometimes blocked by the elves jumping and moving all around. He seemed to be the only one with that problem too. But he could see him.

As Santa was getting closer towards them, Tweek saw something from the corner of his eye. He turned to the sleigh. There was bell that seemed like it was going to detach itself from the others. The sparlking silver metal was shining in an unique way that had distracted the blonde.

Then, the bell, adorned by its green ribbon, detached itself and flew off.

Tweek quickly pulled the noirettes arm to catch his attention. "Craig, look," he pointed to the bell.

It flew from the sleigh to the crowd. Time seemed to have slow down. Nobody noticed the flying object except Craig and Tweek, since they were all focused on Santa.

The bell bounced once, twice, three times, then it rolled. And it stopped right at their feet.

Tweek twitched and took the metal ball. He looked at his friend. Craig raised his eyebrows. "Keep it, Tweek, it's yours," he said.

Tweek looked to the side, seeming to have an idea.

"A-Actually, he said, facing Craig forward, Christmas is a day to share and give gifts, right ?" He handed the shining object to the taller. "I'm giving it to you, you can have it."

Craig's eyes went from the bell to Tweek's bright green irises, then back to the bell and to the blonde's eyes.

"Are you sure ?" he asked.

Tweek nodded with certitude, and placed the tinkling ball in Craig's hands.

Before Craig could add anything, he realized that there was a presence right next to them. He looked up and saw the towering form of Santa Claus. He was so tall...

Neither of the kids had noticed that people had stopped acclaming and screaming all around them. It was dead silent.

Luckily, Clyde took no time to fill up that silence.

"Me ! Me ! Choose me, Santa ! I want the first gift !" he exclaimed.

Santa stepped toward him. "Young man, some patience would be welcome," he said. Clyde flushed with embarrassment and nodded quickly, shutting up.

The tall red man turned to Tweek and spoke, "That was extremely generous of you, my boy." Tweek nodded in awe.

Then, Santa turned to Butters. "I see you've made some friends." Butters hopped on the spot. "Oh boy, I sure did," he smiled.

Finally, he turned to Craig. Santa stared for a few seconds, then glanced at the bell. Craig stared back, emotionless.

Santa turned to the crowd. "I've decided, he announced loudly, to offer the first Christmas gift to this young boy right there." He pointed to the noirette.

The elves started cheering, and the kids started clapping, but Craig was only hit with surprise and confusion. Didn't he just receive a gift from Tweek ?

 


	7. Chapter 7

Craig turned to the latter. He was smiling and clapping too, but his eyes showed the same confusion as the other.

The noirettes arm was pulled by elves who followed the tall fat man to his sleigh. They made the chosen kid sit on his lap, like in malls. Craig stirred uncomfortably. It was kind of awkward.

"So, what would you like for Christmas ?" he asked with a light tone.

Craig was very confused.

"I-I don't know, I...I already got something from my friend, though, he explained, showing the green bell, I think you're making a mistake."

Santa only winked for an answer.

Craig pondered about that wink. Why would he be there when Tweek-

Oh.

Craig looked at the bells attached to the ropes holding the reindeers. All the bells were attached with ribbons of alterned colors. Green and red.

The noirette turned to Santa and nodded. He knew that he knew what he wanted.

"Someone cut a red bell from the flanges !" Santa ordered. The elves did so immediately.

Santa brandished the bell high in the air. "The first gift of Christmas!" he acclaimed. The elves all cheered.

After that, midnight rang on the large clock of the place. Craig put his green bell in his pocket, joined the other kids and Santa whipped the reindeers with colored lights, making them take off. Santa laughed loudly as the sleigh raised higher and higher in the sky, as just it gained speed, it disappeared, leaving only sparkling firework trails.

There was a silence for a few moments, then the elves all celebrated the guaranteed success of tonight.

As they starting dancing, Mr. Mackey guided Craig and the other children back to the whistling train.

"Tickets, please, m'kay," the controller asked as the children walked in line.

Next was Clyde.

Mr. Mackey clipped the golden paper to form a word Clyde couldn't quite see. The controller fave the ticket back.

"SPARE ? Clyde read out loud, I don't get it." He looked at the taller man.

"I think you do, the other answered, even if you didn't wanted to, you showed humility to other people by respecting their boundaries when you annoyed them. You spared them, m'kay."

"Oh," Clyde let out sadly through his braces.

The controller put a hand on his shoulder. "This isn't a big thing, he reassured, you're a good kid, but this is a thing that you should remember."

Clyde nodded contently and climbed on the train.

Butters was next. Mr. Mackey quickly clipped his ticket and gave it back.

"I know you're usually a quiet kid, but tonight you made yourself a man by expressing your annoyance at someone else, and you should be proud that you stepped up." The ticket said "DARING".

Butters smiled at the controller and climbed on the train.

Next was Tweek. The ballon-headed man clipped his ticket with attention and gave it back.

Tweek could read the word "AMITY" and confused, he went to climb on the train, but Mr. Mackey stopped him by putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Wait, m'kay," he said, then turned to Craig.

He clipped the noirettes ticket and let the two children read each other. "AMITY" and "BOND". They both turned to Mr. Mackey.

"You guys have a very good chemistry together, y'know that ?" the latter explained. "You work with each other really well and I can see the start of something beautiful."

Tweek and Craig smiled at each other and climbed on the train.

As they sat down, all children surrounded the noirette. "Can we see it ? Can we see the bell ?" they all asked.

"Tweek, Craig started, since you gave me this green bell earlier, I decided to give one too in return," he declared as he gave the silver object to his friend.

"Oh Craig" Tweek breathed.

All the other kids awwed and Clyde added, "Thatls so cute, it's like your exchanging wedding rings !" Tweek and Craig both blushed at that.

"Then- Gh- that means we're matching ! Can we see the other bell ?" the blonde asked.

Craig nodded and reached to his pocket, but realized that his pocket was empty. Shit, that's right, there was a hole in it ! Fuck !

"Don't worry, encouraged Butters, it must've fallen when you were getting off the sleigh. Maybe it's still there !" "Yeah, we'll go get it !" added Clyde.

As they were getting up, the train started to roll. They had to sit back.

"I'm sorry, Craig, hushed Tweek, you... you can have mine if-"

"No Tweek, Craig said, putting his hand on top of Tweek's, keep it, I insist."

"But-" the blonde interjected but only signed instead.

By the time the train had reached Butter's house, almost all the kids had fallen asleep. Clyde wished the small blonde a merry Christmas, Butters thanked Craig for stopping the train, and he got home safely. He stayed at the door to wave at the leaving locomotive.

Tweek and Craig waved back from the window. Tweek's head rested on Craig's shoulder. When the brown house was gone, he was twirling his red bell between his fingers.

Finally, it was time for Craig to go.

The train stopped in front of his house. Tweek and Clyde had followed the noirette to the door. Tweek apologized about the bell, once again, and Clyde said that its the intention that counts, then said goodbye.

Tweek turned to his friend and hugged him. Craig sighed ans hugged back dearly. Tweek was soft. He really liked him.

The blonde realized something and pulled back quickly, putting his hands on the others shoulders.

"Wait, how are we going to find each other after this ?" he asked, worried.

Craig smiled. "We'll find a way," he said. Tweek hummed in agreement. "Merry Christmas, Craig."

"Merry Christmas," replied the noirette.

Then, Craig got off the train and returned home. In his house, he saw that Santa hadn't come yet, and Craig went to his room. God, he was so tired.

Before climbing to bed, he looked out the window. Mr. Mackey was waving at him and was yelling his Christmas wishes. And on the top of the wagon, Kenny was back, saluting Craig.

Craig saluted back, and the train started to roll away. The noirette took off his slippers, his dressing gown, and pulled his bed sheets. He fell asleep in a second.

He was woken up the next morning by Tricia who was jumping on his bed. "Wake up ! wake up ! Santa has passed, Mom and Dad are making waffles, come on !" She jumped off the bed and ran to the living. Craig heard their mother telling Tricia to not run, and Craig quickly put on his dressing gown.

That he pulled too hard on and caused to tear, sending the space marbles to scatter across the floor. Wait, what ? Didn't that happen last night ?

He rushed to the living room anyway, and Tricia threw a present in his face.

"Tricia Tucker !" his father yelled.

Maybe an hour later, all the presents had been opened. Except one.

Tricia gave it to Craig since it was his. Their parents gathered around the two to see who is was from. "Santa, duh !" said Tricia as if it was obvious.

Craig concentrated on opening his gift. Inside was the bell with the green ribbon he had lost. Oh, thank god. Craig thought he had lost it for good.

He rang the bell to his ear. The sound it made was still incredible. While Tricia took it from his hands, Craig took the memo that was at the bottom of the box.

"Found this on the seat of my sleigh. Better fix that hole in your pocket. -Mr. C."

The noirette signed. As a small wave of sadness came over him, Tricia flipped his present box upside down.

"There's something left, look," she said, handing what seemed to be an etiquette.

Craig took it and read.

"Tweek Tweak  
17091 Paracelsus Street  
Bellevue, Nebraska"

Craig signed in contentement and started to laugh out loud, ignoring the strange looks from his family.

He flipped them off as he knew that from now on, his world would be changed forever. That night, he might've met Santa, but he met an amazing boy, which was so much better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally done, just in time for Christmas...
> 
> God, that was so tiring, but I'm proud of myself, even if this will go unnoticed.
> 
> Happy holidays, everybody !


End file.
